Come to ‘Credible Chattisgarh,’ State Says

It is probably hard to promote yourself as a destination when your name mainly appears in the news alongside the words “Maoist hotbed” or “Naxal infested,” as the rebels who operate in several states in central and eastern India are also known.

Tripti Lahiri for the Wall Street Journal

Pavilion director Pravin Kumar Shukla says the state has a lot of natural beauty.

But still, the state of Chhattisgarh is trying. For the past two weeks, Chhattisgarh, which on Nov. 1 completed 10 years of being a state (it was carved out of neighboring Madhya Pradesh), has been the “focus state” at the trade fair taking place at New Delhi’s government convention center, Pragati Maidan.

“I think people are starting to know it is an up-and-coming state,” said pavilion director Pravin Kumar Shukla, who is with the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation. “What we have is rare. We have a power surplus. There is no power cut. We export power to other states.”

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Mr. Shukla also pointed out the state is rich in coal, iron ore and dolomite. The pavilion was in fact a bit reminiscent of the airport in state capital Raipur, which is plastered with the boards of steel and mining firms.

The rebels contend that attempts to extract these mineral riches are dispossessing tribals of the land they live on. But Mr. Shukla says the state’s Maoist problem has been overstated in the media, and that Chhattisgarh is an attractive place to visit, with much natural beauty, such as the Chitrakote waterfalls, and many forests.

Chhattisgarh has also coined a slogan this year to promote itself: the decidedly sober “Credible Chattisgarh.” (India’s tourism slogan is the more bombastic “Incredible India,” which is sometimes used in a less than flattering way by some visitors). Mr. Shukla said they want to promote an image of the state as “dependable.”

“You can rely on us,” he said.

Many of the pavilion’s stands featured herbal and other goods made from “minor forest produce,” silks and metal sculptures from the state’s Bastar tribal region. There was also a replica of the waterfalls, in front of which young visitors were taking photographs (almost as many as were taking photos of themselves with a nearby juice ad featuring Bollywood star Bipasha Basu).

But there was also some stiff competition. Goa, the Indian territory of beaches and lingering Latin influence, had a mock Portuguese-style plaza complete with benches and lamp-posts opposite the falls that was thronged with visitors.

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